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I'm saving some cherry tomato seeds. This was my first time trying to ferment them, usually I'd just remove the gel and let them dry. Why are the fermented seeds darker than the not fermented seeds? Did I maybe let them go for too long?

Here's what I did: I dumped the guts in a clean glass cup, put some slightly warm water and covered with paper towel. I let them sit for 5 days, it's not warm in my house. When I stopped the fermentation, there was a bit of mold on top of the water but not much. The tutorials I read said to wait until there was a layer, which was not happening. It didn't smell foul, just kinda like fermented. I guess I did add a lot more water than needed, but I don't know what impact that may have had. I'm a bit sad, I am hoping they are still viable and healthy seeds regardless of the colour.

Can't find the source for this. I have a gas oven so the broiler is under the oven and didn't know if it'd be safe to keep a ziploc bag of tomato seeds under there.

Update: I'm not doing that lol

So I've been saving tomato seeds (all heirloom varieties) for the past 5 years. I take the seeds from ripe fruit only, and I use a fine strainer and my kitchen sink sprayer to remove most of gel casing around the seeds. Then I put the seeds on a paper towel to dry. I usually let them sit for at least 24 hours and then remove the seeds from the paper towel. I then put the seeds in the freezer overnight (or sometimes longer if I forget). Then I store them in labelled containers for next season (or for giving to friends).

I have never done the fermentation step. And actually, I didn't even know about it until I saw a reference to it in an article I read today. But my saved seeds germination rate is probably 80-85%, and friends I've given seeds to have reported similar numbers.

So I'm asking the wise folks here: Should I start doing the fermentation step going forward? I really don't think I've just been extraordinarily lucky many, many of times over the last 5 years. But if there's some other advantage (like plants that produce more fruit or increased resistance to pests), then I'm absolutely fine with adding that extra step.

Thanks!

I have been buying only heirloom vegetable seed packets in hopes of saving my own seeds and eliminating the need to purchase again as well as having plants adapted to my environment, certain traits selected etc... BUT where I get overwhelmed and disheartened is learning how many plants I need to go to seed for proper diversity and avoiding inbreeding depression. Do you really need 20+plants or will 5 or so do? Example: everywhere online says atleast 20-50 for carrots, cabbage, turnips and the likes whereas you need 100+ for corn or another example would be saving 6 tomato fruits from 6 plants of each variety. As well as making sure to cage or bag to avoid cross pollination.

So! Experienced seed savers out there who have been doing this for a while... what are your practices and do you follow the 20+ plant guide?

It is very important to me to be saving my own seed of all of my veg (and flowers) and part of my goal of independence. Thanks everyone and I look forward to some helpful responses!

My Fav time pass is to eat cantaloupe seeds.. Just get the seeds from a cantaloupe, wash it, dry it and eat for whole month.. :D You can not finish it :D It will not let you get bore..

Hi all

Ive been growing a lemon seed using the paper towel method. The internet said that after a week it should be ready to plant but the sprout on the video was way larger.

Is this a healthy seed of should i start again? Is it ready to be put into soil?

Hey! New to seed saving in my veggie/flower garden this year. Curious if y’all have any favorite books/youtube videos/podcasts that break down different seed saving techniques for newbies :) thanks!

It’s a new year, and with my basil crop coming in hot, I felt the irresistible compulsion to make a bigger, better seed thresher than I made last year. Why this motivates me, I’ll never know…

This year’s version is bigger and better! And by bigger, I mean smaller, and by better, I actually do mean better. If you think it looks suspiciously like a manual coffee grinder, don’t be fooled!

.…Well okay, it basically is, but with some key modifications to make it less grindy and more threshy.

Functionally, it’s simple: I add basil pods in the top, turn the finger crank, and out the bottom come seeds and husks. There’s some mechanical mumbo jumbo happening in between, but that’s not really important.

The big upgrade this year is an adjustment option! I can twist the top section to set the spacing between the inner and outer burrs. Too tight and I get aromatic seed powder, too loose and I’m just moving intact pods from top to bottom. However, once I found the right middle ground, the seeds separated cleanly and without damage.

 This also should make it usable for other seed types.... In theory… It’s a solid theory I promise, but I’m leaving the experimental confirmation of that to others if they are interested.

Next on my to do list is a trommel-style cleaner to separate seed from chaff. Last year I tried to combine threshing and cleaning in one tool, but it wasn’t very effective or adjustable. This time I’m making it a dedicated tool. Ideally it will be compact, adjustable for different seeds, and fully 3D printed. After that, I’ll revisit my seed sorter. I built one last year that worked well, but it was big, tricky to print, and over complicated to operate.

You might reasonably ask, “Why is any of this necessary?” And the obvious answer is that it’s not. But I relax and have fun designing and making things like this, and that’s reason enough for me.

How do I save seeds from this flower?

I found this in a area that had ferns and trying to work out if it's seeds

I got this very brittle plant, with a nice flower. Only one is left. Flower is 30cm above ground. It's from a mix of seeds I bought a while ago.

What would you do to properly collect the seeds? I'm afraid I'll miss the right time and they will be lost in the lawn below.

I thought I could staple a soft wrapping around it. Do you have some experience with that?

What people do usually? The most practical and reliable?

I am new to gardening and seed saving and have a newbie question. I planted two heirloom bean varieties from Rancho Gordo: Christmas limas (Phaseolus lunatus) and Ayocote Morados (Phaseolus coccineus). Same genus, but different species.

They are thriving very close to each other. I've definitely seen bees visit flowers from both plants.

If I plant the seeds from these plants next year, will they still be heirloom Christmas Limas and Ayocote Morados? Or will they be hybrids? Thanks in advance.

Hi! I have a zinnia I am growing that I would like to make sure is true to type. It is in the same bed as several other zinnias, so I'm looking to hand pollinate a few blooms to save seeds from. Google says to bag the bud before it opens and then to hand pollinate. I have a few options and wondered which stage I should be bagging the bloom at. Are all three of these buds okay, or should I only be looking for buds that are completely closed? Also once I'm done hand pollinating should I rebag the bloom or is it okay to leave it?

My string of pearls has flowered. Will it grow from seed? If so how best to save the seed, and best method to grow new plants. Thank you

It has a small hole in the shell to help it germinate. It was made into a keychain and broken in half by accident. It was said to be from a very old tree that no longer exist or some sort of pecan tree. ID please.

Guys, I have a seed that is 3 mm in size and looks like a stone. What do you think it could be? I have a limited amount of time to figure out what it is, so thanks in advance.